I hope to score even more than three goals this time. That was the day my Celtic career really took off
SAYS MOUSSA DEMBELE
Feedback I had from home was the same as it was here
IT WAS the making of Moussa Dembele in a Celtic shirt. A header from a corner, a finish with the outside of his right foot and one slotted home via his left.
A perfect hat-trick. And a historic one. No player had scored three goals in an Old Firm league fixture for 50 years (Celtic’s Steve Chalmers was the last man to do so in January 1966).
The way Dembele dismantled Rangers on their last visit to Glasgow’s east end instantly elevated him to iconic status among Celtic supporters.
So, as the Ibrox side prepare to return to the scene of September’s 5-1 mauling, could he do it again?
‘I hope it is going to be even more than three,’ replied Dembele. ‘For me, when I go on the pitch, I try to do my best to help the team get three points. If I can score, it is great. If not, it is good to help the team get three points.’
Rangers can consider themselves warned. Dembele has scored in each of the two subsequent derbies this season, flicking home an 87th-minute decider in the League Cup semi-final before a thunderous strike in a 2-1 victory at Ibrox on Hogmanay.
Both are fond memories. Yet it is his Old Firm debut that retains the status of career landmark.
Talk of Dembele’s huge potential had been heard ever since his arrival from Fulham for a compensation fee in the region of £500,000.
That game, however, proved he could rise to a pressurised occasion. The 20-year-old has not looked back since.
He said: ‘I have had some good performances this season, so I can’t really look and say which one was the best.
‘But that game (against Rangers) in September was the day my Celtic career really took off. It all started from that day, so I will always remember it.
‘The feedback I had from home after it was the same as it was here. Everyone was coming up to me and everyone was congratulating me. It was special.’
The France Under-21 striker carries an insatiable hunger for goals. Even that treble did not provide satisfaction.
‘I could have scored more,’ he argued. ‘If I scored three, then I could score five. But I still wouldn’t be happy because I had scored five.
‘I just have to take it game by game and get ready for Sunday. Hopefully, we can win the game.’
Scoring all six in a 6-1 win at Under-13 level is, Dembele revealed, his best-ever haul in a single fixture. He plays on a very different stage now.
Aside from his tormenting of Rangers, the striker has claimed goals in the Champions League and on both his appearances at Hampden to date. He is the archetypal big-game hunter.
‘I like big games,’ said Dembele. ‘I try to give 100 per cent. But that isn’t just true in the big games, it’s true in the smaller games as well. But my best play comes in big games. I don’t know how to explain it. Why do I score in games against Rangers? I don’t know. It’s not about them, it’s about me. I am just ready for them.’
The Ibrox team will somehow have to be ready for him. With central defender Rob Kiernan suspended, the unenviable task of shackling the 32-goal forward will likely fall to Clint Hill and Danny Wilson.
‘I think they will probably try to stop me, but that isn’t a change from any other team in the league,’ insisted Dembele.
‘But when I am on the pitch I just focus on myself and on my team. We have goals in every part of the team. If they try to stop me, there are other players who can score goals.
‘I think there has been a lot of improvement in our team since the (Old Firm) game in September. I think we defend better as a team. There is still a lot more to come from us.’
Dembele has scored in seven of his eight appearances since Celtic’s winter training camp in Dubai, adding another 13 to his overall tally.
That prolific run has enhanced his claim to be promoted to the senior France squad when Didier Deschamps names his men for the World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg and friendly with Spain later this month.
‘I hope, but I’m not really looking to the full French national team yet,’ claimed the young French star.
‘We have this game on Sunday and then the squad list is out next week. I will focus on this game and then see what happens.’
It would probably be easier to list the major European clubs who have not been linked with Celtic’s premier asset in the last couple of months.
While the foundation behind that speculation may vary, the subject of it is calm about seeing his name in the same sentence as a super-club.
‘It feels good but I don’t really follow the news,’ he added. ‘I just focus on my season. At the end, I will go on holiday and enjoy that. I don’t really look at the rumours.’
A similar approach is taken to the price tags mentioned. When Chelsea were linked late in the January transfer window, it was reported they would have to produce £40million.
Asked about that valuation, Dembele said: ‘It feels great because it means I am not doing bad, I think. I just have to keep going and training hard.
‘Am I worth £40m? You tell me. I don’t know. A price is a price. I can’t tell you I’m worth £40m or £50m or £30m or £20m. I just concentrate on my game.’
None of this should be mistaken for shy modesty. On the day Dembele joined Celtic, he declared a long-term ambition to be the best striker in the world.
Nine months on, how close does he feel to that stratospheric aim?
‘How close? I’m far from it,’ replied Dembele. ‘I have done a lot, but I am still young. I am 20 years old and still learning. I have to keep training hard and pushing myself. Hopefully, I will make it one day.
‘I believe in myself. I trust myself. No matter what people say, I will always trust myself because I know what I am capable of.’